By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 23, 2020
Iga Swiatek is one of two teenagers to make the third round in Melbourne. This and more in Aussie Musings.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/ Corleve
Five thoughts on the run of play of Day 4 at the 2020 Aussie Open.
More Aussie Musings: Day 2 | Day 3
America Rising
11 of the 64 spots in the men’s and women’s third round at Melbourne belong to the United States. That’s quite an accomplishment for the stars and stripes, particularly on the men’s side because we certainly didn’t expect the likes of Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz and Tennys Sandgren to all come through the second round in gritty fashion. All three won in five sets against more established players and Sandgren has notched the biggest upset of the tournament by ranking by knocking off No.8-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy.
It’s a great way to start the year for the American men, but let’s not forget the women that have set the bar high for American tennis for, well, like the last 20 years. Serena Williams is still in the hunt for her 24th major title and Madison Keys is looking menacing as the No.10 seed and one of the better players on tour without a major title to her name. Beneath that is a rising current of diverse players such as Sofia Kenin, who looks like a star in the making, Alison Riske, a later bloomer finding herself both as a player and person, and Coco Gauff the 15-year-old that maybe a few of you have heard about? And then there is CiCi Bellis, who fits in her own category--scroll down for more...
Bottom line? It’s been a great tournament for Team USA and the table is set for a memorable week two.
Late Night Electricity Sets the Aussie Open in Motion on Day 4
The night session was full of energy last night with Nick Kyrgios taking the home fans on a roller coaster ride that ended hopefully, with a four-set win and some heartfelt apologies to his team for rude treatment during the third set. Wait a second... KYRGIOS APOLOGIZES? Did not know he had that in him...
We also had Stan Wawrinka surviving Andreas Seppi in five while at the same time Karen Khachanov somehow finagled a win by overcoming a sensational effort from Sweden’s Mikael Ymer. Khachanov survived—just barely—to set up a third-round clash with Kyrgios but Ymer really turned heads with his performance. And it might just be the tip of the iceberg from the young Swede, who is really starting to find himself on tour after years of teasing fans with his easy-on-the-eyes game style.
Over on Court 15 Yulia Putintseva was easing past Danielle Collins in a match that was surprisingly lacking in histrionics, but it was a nice win nevertheless for Kazakhstan, which has placed three women (also Elena Rybakina and Zarina Diyas) into the third round of Melbourne.
As Rafael Nadal finally signed off on his second-round win over Federico Delbonis we were pretty much exhausted—the frantic pace of the multiple matches, cause by the late start due to rain had sapped us of all energy, but Day 5 is another day.
The *other* Teenager Still Alive in the Draw
Poland’s 18-year-old Iga Swiatek is a ringer, plain and simple. She waltzed past tried-and-true veteran Carla Suarez Navarro on Day 4 to set up a third-round clash with Donna Vekic. With eight aces and 33 winners in the 88-minute contest, we’ve got more proof that Swiatek packs a serious punch in her game.
Have to think that the No.1 Pole is destined for big things in 2020. There's a real organic flow to her brand of power tennis, and she won’t turn 19 until Roland Garros, the place where she first made her mark on tour last season by reaching the Round of 16.
CiCi the Inspiration
What can we say about CiCi Bellis that hasn't been said over the last 12 hours? The young woman goes through four surgeries in a horrendous year and is told by a doctor (in October of last year) that she’ll never play again. So what does she do? She gets a second, third and fourth opinion and then doubles down, backs herself and gets back into the mix with a stunning run to the third round in Melbourne.
Those who followed Bellis, a former teen prodigy that spent her last two teenage years under the knife and on the rehab table, knew that things were looking pretty bleak this time last year, to say the least.
She poured her heart out in an Instagram post on Behind the Racquet, telling of her injury nightmares and ending by saying: “I got the plate out [of my arm] last Monday and that’s where I am now. The hardest things have been hitting and getting close to normality and then just being totally set back. There is no way I can do this anymore, but tennis is everything to me. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t love this sport.”
Eight months later she’s back in good health (thank goodness) and has reeled off back-to-back wins in Melbourne. A truly improbable and inspiring story. She’ll face Elise Mertens next.
Rublev, Red Hot and Unfazed
Andrey Rublev has won 14 matches in a row, so he is arguably one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour right now. Normally that sort of a streak would come with some pressure but the Russian, who entered the Aussie Open ranked at 16 in the world, believes that all the pressure of his third-round match against David Goffin will be on the Belgian.
“I mean, it's going to be all pressure on him because he's going to be the favorite,” Rublev said on Thursday after defeating Yuichi Sugita in straight sets.
It’s all about perspective and mindset, so if that is how Rublev truly feels out there then more power to him.
One thing is for certain: Rublev is definitely keeping an even keel despite the fact that he is the first ATP player to enter the Australian Open with back-to-back titles to his name in 16 years.
“It's not going to happen often that I'm going to win always, always,” he told reporters. “It's not going to happen like this. Our sport, it's only one winner per week. It's cannot be always many winners. So every week someone have to lose here all the players. All the top players like Rafa, Djokovic, Federer, all the rest, there is only going to be one winner.
“Even a top players will have to lose this week. So we'll see. For the moment, is just, I don't know, it happen. But for sure I'm going to lose so many more matches, and I'm going to win also. It's more about how I'm going to lose and how I'm going to work and how I'm going to improve.